Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Lurch on March 16, 2013, 08:15:06 AM
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Didn't see these anywhere on amiga.org so thought I'd post the photos, they're from here :
http://retrocu.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/individual-computers-photos-and.html
From what I can see it's going to be a side car expansion :-(
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Some text I translated :
"68ec00o a 14MHz processor, 1.5MB of RAM and 512KB of ROM map, two CF card slots"
Hmmm...
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I wonder if the device was really done as a joke?
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That's an old prototype believe. This one is newer
http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=872178&postcount=648
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By any chance will this fit inside the amiga 500??
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No looks like it's going to be a side car :-/
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This thing really is a bad joke. It will come without case and you will end up with a enourmous card hanging outside your a500 or some hacked up self made case. Solution like viper 530 to fit inside the case would have been much better.
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This thing really is a bad joke. It will come without case and you will end up with a enourmous card hanging outside your a500 or some hacked up self made case. Solution like viper 530 to fit inside the case would have been much better.
I really hope it has just been done as a publicity stunt, with no intention of actually releasing a "completed" product.
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For a solution inside the A500... better wait for Zeus68k accelerator which looks QUITE promising and exciting!
Also you can go the kipper2k 4-8MB Fast RAM + IDE68k approach and stick with 68000 or an beefed a little 68010 for some WHDLoad fun.
ACA500 is indeed an low spec and cost sidecar adapter. Will have 2MB (or 4MB upon request) of Fast RAM, 2xCF adapters and 68000@14MHz. It has an A1200 accelerator connector, where you can connect for sure the line of ACA1231/1232 accelerators (ACA1230 not supported as long as other accelerators by Blizzard and Apollo).
As for looks... anyone has it's own opinion.
For me... despite it's features (with an accelerator connected) the look is rather crappy.
Unless you manage to mod it inside a nice sidecar case as GVP 530... sticking 2xAdapters in the side of your A500... will be Frankensteinish approach.
The first prototype which was Vertical instead of the new Horizontal version was really a bad joke.
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Bummer! :mad: This is very bad news. It had to be internally! :furious: All hope is floating away for CDTV & A2000 users. :pissed:
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Bummer! :mad: This is very bad news. It had to be internally! :furious: All hope is floating away for CDTV & A2000 users. :pissed:
That's something I hadn't even considered.
Instead of being able to be used in an A500, A1000, A2000, and CDTV, its most likely limited to just half the A500.
So, now they have an "accelerator" that already had a limited market, that has now been halved again, because its just stupid :roflmao:
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I like the idea of being able to use my ACA1231 with my A500, If it was released with a case I could be tempted.
I don't think it'll fit with an ACA 1231 in an A590 or similar case. Maybe if the connector for the A1200 accelerators was flexible?
Ah well will sit back and watch what happens.
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I'm a little surprised no one noticed the ACA500 here before. It's been talked about for months and months on EAB and other sites. Especially since it's another ACA-card by Jens it shouldn't be such a suprise.
Apart from that, I am also of the opinion this card is severely flawed but I almost got my head bitten of by Jens when I mentioned this on EAB. :-/
What I like about it is the aim at low cost, the CF-connectors and the only slightly faster cpu (I don't need it to be a power house, I have other miggies for that).
The original design was meant to have a 68020 @ 14 MHz, 4 MB ram (if I am not mistaken) and would be internal, which would be much more to my liking.
Now it turns out to be a 14 MHz 68000 (not a problem for me) with 2 MB ram (which ís a problem for me) and it will be external (which is simply not acceptable for me).
Kipper2k seems to be working on a much more interesting solution, combining his 4/8 MB fast ram expansion with the IDE68K in one internal device. Also expected to be a low cost solution, but without several of the severe design flawes (in my opinion) the ACA500 has.
Mind you, for the most part I really like the products Jens makes and sells and I understand he wants to make a profit, but I can't imagine this being a succesfull design. He aims it at the returning A500 user without the ability to add an internal card. I really doubt there is a market for that. Returning A500 users without that knowledge will, I expect, not even think about adding anything to an A500, as they don't even have any idea about the existence of any such products. So, the product will mostly be sold to existing users, most of them being able to add an internal card to the A500 by themselves.
The Indivision ECS for example is a fantastic product, as are the ACA630, the A604 (this combo makes the A600 a fantastic computer!), the Indivision AGA mk I (which I all have) and the ACA1220/123x also seem to be great, but the ACA500 goes from barely acceptable (when it was to be the ACA520) to, well, almost embarrassing.
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I really hope it has just been done as a publicity stunt, with no intention of actually releasing a "completed" product.
I think this thing is real, he even got a licence for KS images. Also it seems only ACA cards will work in this.... :sealed:
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and it will be external (which is simply not acceptable for me).
After many years of having internal cards in an A500, I much prefer everything to be external.
The prototype that lies flat on the desk looks much better.
I'm not sure I'd have added any ram or CPU & made it require either an A1200 ram or accelerator.
But I guess Jens thinks there are some people who just want a standalone cheap expansion they can plug into an A500 for WHDLOAD.
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After many years of having internal cards in an A500, I much prefer everything to be external.
Why though?
I haven't used my A500 in weeks, because with the A590 connected, I simply have nowhere to set it up!
I've bought an A600 to use instead because everything can easily, and cheaply be internal.
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Thought the comment would be after years of having everything external it will be nice to have it internally? :-)
Back to sitting on the fence :-)
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I'm not sure how many people will end up using the 14mhz 68000, or whether all customers will just add an accelerator to the back. Which of course will have it's own ram as well.
Adding an ACA12xx completely defeats the purpose of it being a lowcost solution.
If the purpose of the card is adding an ACA12xx to an A500, then completely remove all ram and the 68000, making it a simpler and cheaper design.
Sorry, but the more I think about it, the more flawed the current design becomes in my eyes.
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Bummer! :mad: This is very bad news. It had to be internally! :furious: All hope is floating away for CDTV & A2000 users. :pissed:
It was never supposed to work in the CDTV, as the CDTV uses DMA for its CD-ROM (and on top of that there is very little space above the 68k-socket).
A2000 could get away with a simple adapter to the MMU (turbo-slot) only question is wether you'd still be able to use Z2 cards (as the ACA won't provide a config-out signal).
But Jens also hinted at an "ACA2000", which might just be the same card minus A500-side-slot plus some logik for Z2 use (just my guess).
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If the purpose of the card is adding an ACA12xx to an A500, then completely remove all ram and the 68000, making it a simpler and cheaper design.
Yeah, I would probably have done that personally. However the cost of the board isn't just based on the cost of the components, so some decisions might not make as much sense to us as they do to Jens. He might also be wrong, but I think he's got so far through now that even if he is wrong then he's not going to change it anyway.
Why though?
I haven't used my A500 in weeks, because with the A590 connected, I simply have nowhere to set it up!
Because I'm fed up with having to keep opening it up to unplug one thing and plug another thing in & the sockets give up eventually.
I'd have probably bought an A1200 over an A600.
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I'm afraid I have to agree, it's not pretty, in fact it's actually probably a bit dangerous to have all those chips exposed.
Not really sure where Jen's is going with this product, he's normally pretty much spot on with his hardware.
I'm not a 500 owner but if I was I'd be after an internal design, either an FPGA based solution or an 030 and something with at least 8 MB RAM.
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I'm afraid I have to agree, it's not pretty, in fact it's actually probably a bit dangerous to have all those chips exposed.
That is a different argument, a case will solve that.
Not really sure where Jen's is going with this product, he's normally pretty much spot on with his hardware.
What you mean is that you normally agree with him, he might still be spot on with it (or at least as close as you can get with making hardware for such an obsolete computer).
I'm not a 500 owner but if I was I'd be after an internal design, either an FPGA based solution or an 030 and something with at least 8 MB RAM.
Maybe come back when you have an A500 & have tried cramming in multiple upgrades inside the case. A megachip and 1.8mb trapdoor expansion with a gary tower of death takes up a lot of the room.
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It was never supposed to work in the CDTV, as the CDTV uses DMA for its CD-ROM (and on top of that there is very little space above the 68k-socket).
I'm not an hardware-guru, but fact is that they made A500/A2000 acccelerators in the past which worked also with the CDTV. Can you explain why Jens can't make such an accelerator?
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Maybe come back when you have an A500 & have tried cramming in multiple upgrades inside the case. A megachip and 1.8mb trapdoor expansion with a gary tower of death takes up a lot of the room.
I agree with this statement. Once you have a kickstart switcher, indvision and MegaChip installed in your A500, you will start getting a little sick of internal mods to the A500 (no room).
I don't mind internal mods, but the side expansion port on the A500 was a great design feature and should be used. It makes installation/removal of components easy, safe and plug-n-play.
Besides - A500's with sidecars are COOL!
As for this not working in an A2000, well, since the side expansion port of an A500 is almost a Zorro slot, I'm sure with a simple adapter it could be made to work on an A2000, or the design could be used to make an A2000 version (perhaps with some lines leading to the A2000's CPU slot).
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I don't know why you guys assume Jens isn't going to encase this.
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Why are people whining about a non-a2000 accelerator?. After all, you have plenty of options for the 2000, as it is a big box amiga, and the 500 is more limited in expansion. Also, there are more a500 than cdtvs in circulation, so it makes more sense to aim at a500 only at first than trying to reach all the ocs/ecs machines.
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I don't know why you guys assume Jens isn't going to encase this.
Because he said so himself in that particular thread.
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Another third party could be making a case for it if he does not supply one but things can change in development and a case may or may not come with this device. The A500 is probably the most compatibility with old floppy disc games,but how compatible with a accelerator I don't know.
Imagine a A500 all cleaned-up to look brand new with a nice side case will it look out of place against a A1200? My answer would be no.
User(s) should always welcome new hardware be it right or wrong as who else would do it.
A500 all cleaned-up with accelerator could bring back entry level new users to amiga.
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User(s) should always welcome new hardware be it right or wrong as who else would do it.
what??
A500 all cleaned-up with accelerator could bring back entry level new users to amiga.
hardly. an entry level user with no experience would be much better served with a clean a1200. it would be cheaper, simpler, easier to get and would not fall apart when moving it around the table.
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That thing would ONLY be impressive if I designed and built it, or some kid did, or the cat, but it does not really seem up Jens usual production quality.
Maybe it can work as an upgrade for A1000 users who are desperate an upgrade.
Honestly, if you want to upgrade a A500 to 14mhz with 2MB of ram with expansion slot, you buy an A1200, not this thing...
This upgrade alone is not really even enough to properly take advantage whdload...
Maybe I'm just negative because I'd like the AGA MKII to take priority over this thing...
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Imagine a A500 all cleaned-up to look brand new with a nice side case will it look out of place against a A1200? My answer would be no.
Imagine an A500, all cleaned up, looking brand new with some nice internal expansions. Will it look out of place against an A1200? My answer would be no. :-)
User(s) should always welcome new hardware be it right or wrong as who else would do it.
That is something completely different. I welcome any new hardware for classic Amigas.
But Jens says he aims this device at inexperienced new A500 users wanting to relive their childhood without spending big bucks.
While a certainly believe there are such people, I severely doubt there are enough of them to warrant a device like this. I certainly dó believe most of the ACA500s, when and if available, will be bought by people wanting to use them to add an ACA12xx to theire A500.
In that case, the ACA500 is used as a rather expensive adapter, while both the beefed up 68000 and the extra 2 MB will not be used anymore, making the combination most likely to be quite expensive (even more so than the expected Zeus68k) and, because of the external design without a case (Jens insisted on not making a case for it quite strongly!) a fragile solution with a very large footprint.
I expect people Jens is targeting with this device, if they want to use a real A500 and not an emulator, most likely don't want to spend much money (Jens is most likely right with that assumption), but also do not want to use a large amount of space for their classic Miggie. And while the A500 in itself already occupies quite an amount of deskspace, this is even more so when using any kind of sidecar solution.
A very usable A500 for returning users would be the A500 itself, an Indivision ECS, 0.5 MB trapdoor ram, any kind of IDE/CF solution, an internal fast ram solution of at least 4 MB (preferably 8 MB) and a slightly faster cpu than stock.
If the ACA500 would have 4 or 8 MB and would be internal, I would buy one. Being it external and only having 2 MB (1.5 MB usable), I won't.
Ofcourse, I could be totally wrong about the the assumptions I make regarding the market Jens is aiming at. He says he's aiming at a certain group, but I doubt it will be bought by that group. It will most likely sell, it might even sell well, but not because of its cpu, the onboard ram or the fact that it is external (and thus easy to connect to an A500). It will sell to people wanting to use an ACA12xx with their A500.
I have no problem with that, but I find it rather curious that it is not the main focus of the ACA500, while being (imo) blatantly obvious.
I severely doubt many people will use the ACA500 in its standard configuration. And if that turns out to be the case, why bother making the ACA500 more than just an ACA12xx adapter?
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Maybe come back when you have an A500 & have tried cramming in multiple upgrades inside the case. A megachip and 1.8mb trapdoor expansion with a gary tower of death takes up a lot of the room.
I own an A500 plus, plenty of room inside so not sure where you're coming from. I've had various combinations of hardware inside/outside.
I've had an ide68k/ Tom's 8MB with a CFCard/68010 - This was great, nice and tidy, good for WHDLoad and the CF Card was mounted so you could access it without opening the case. This was the best setup, only thing missing was an 68030.
Currently I'm using an A590 (as I sold some 500 gear to fund my 1200) and find it takes up too much space on the desk and I'm missing my ide68k :-(
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I don't know why you guys assume Jens isn't going to encase this.
I don't know why you are assuming that I thought he was going to encase this. If I were to buy this device, I would be looking forward to making my own sidecar case for it.
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what??
hardly. an entry level user with no experience would be much better served with a clean a1200. it would be cheaper, simpler, easier to get and would not fall apart when moving it around the table.
A1200s are over $100 US used. A500s? Well, they're usually under $50, sometimes much less. If you're in the right place at the right time, they're even free by the carload. I don't know why they are so maligned. They are essentially an A2000 without the Zorro slots (and this can be remedied).
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A1200s are over $100 US used. A500s? Well, they're usually under $50, sometimes much less.
Which makes an A1200 a better option for the returning, non-tech user, as an A500 with an ACA500 is both less capable and more expensive than an A1200. :-)
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I don't know why you are assuming that I thought he was going to encase this. If I were to buy this device, I would be looking forward to making my own sidecar case for it.
The fun part of your answer is, that people (capable of) making a sidecar case for the ACA500 are not the people the ACA500 is aimed at. :-)
The ACA500, with its low price, low specs and easy to install design is aimed at the non-tech user returning to the Amiga just now to relive a part of their childhood and using their new A500 for what they used it back then: games, and nothing else. While there is nothing wrong with that, those are certainly not the people which you can expect to make their own sidecar case.
So, while Jens certainly has a point on certain design choices with the ACA500, the line of thinking he follows has (in my opinion) lead him to believe he's aiming the product at a certain market that, even if it would exist, will not be the market which will buy the ACA500. The ACA500 will be bought by people wanting to use an ACA12xx with their A500. And those people, most of them long time Amiga enthusiasts, can be expected to fit an internal design in the A500, making the choice for an external version rather dubious.
It is certainly easier to fit an internal version of the ACA500 than design and make a stable and good looking external case for the ACA500 yourself.
Face it: the ACA500 will be used as an ACA12xx adapter, not as a stand alone device. If this is so, just call it what it is.
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I'm a "returning A500 user" and would love an accelerator, but not an external one. Ugh, guess I'll just have to keep waiting and scouring ebay... :'(
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Yeah, I have to admit, I was really looking forward to this, 'cos of the ACA12xx expansion slot, but seeing that it's a side car and he's nerfed the original specs, I'm not interested at all now. I'll just wait for the Zeus. Sure I'm gonna lose a lot of ram, but it will probably be cheaper than buying both the ACA500 and an ACA12xx series and it's internal. This isn't the 90's. Most of us have a PC or Mac on our desks, so real estate space is limited and the last thing I want to deal with is the A500, with it's brick PS, mouse AND a sidecar all cluttered on my desk with my PC's three monitors, keyboard, speakers and mouse. :/
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I'm a "returning A500 user" and would love an accelerator, but not an external one. Ugh, guess I'll just have to keep waiting and scouring ebay... :'(
Don'twanna hijack this thread but alternative exist but more expensive.
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I own an A500 plus, plenty of room inside so not sure where you're coming from. I've had various combinations of hardware inside/outside.
exactly...
An internal accelerator, designed to accommodate a few other potential internal expansions could fairly easily have been done.
maybe an 020 at 28Mhz, 8meg ram, a compact flash slot, and maybe a second IDE connector for a cdrom...
even if it cost twice as much as the ACA500, its twice as functional and practical!
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I may be in the minority here, but I really like the idea of the ACA500. The sidecar is bulky, but is a recognised old school way to expand an Amiga 500. If you could make the board in the same shape as the A590, you'd find a whole new market for those units on ebay :)
Also, I think that it shouldn't be too hard to make an internal version of the ACA500. All you would need to do is make the connector flexible, or at a 270 degree angle. Then you'd be able to mount the PCB inside the A500.
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Now it turns out to be a 14 MHz 68000 (not a problem for me)...
This is a problem. The whole point would be WHDLoad.
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This is a problem. The whole point would be WHDLoad.
If your problem is the 68000 and WHDLoad because of the QUIT key, then Jens has said that his card would intercept that (whatever it is) and allow it to quit.
(I'm pretty sure anyway, that thread is huge and I can't find it now with a quick browse)
Found it: http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=872545&postcount=683
I'm OK with the concept.
I'm glad that this is one of numerous options.
Kipper2K's looks great for all internal and low end. (No CPU increase, but IDE68K and 8M RAM? NICE!)
This one, with enough RAM to run a lot of games with WHDLoad (more would be better of course) and the expansion options for adding an accelerator. Also the new kickstart options are really really kual!!!)
Zeus, which looks to be a great high end option..
As they say, it's all good.
And I like sidecar expansions..
That being said, I like sidecar expansions with nice cases (like the GVP).
I had a DataFlyer sidecar for my A500 back in the day and I liked that.
I really hope there is a case option (and/or Jens reconsiders and includes one) as I agree, I think that's needed.
I have a sidecar dual CF HD for my A1000 from tomthul, which I like.
It has no case, but it's a homebrew hardware, so I kind of expect that.
Even with that, I'm thinking a Vic-20 cart might be able to be tweaked to make a case for it, so I'm probably going to try that...
So, I'm not complaining. I see a lot of good in the ACA500.
And with the other options coming out...
Good time to be an Amiga fan..
:-)
desiv
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As I recall a couple extra megs of ram on an a500 can make a huge difference, but how much difference can 14mhz verses 8mhz make in video display speed, like say when you click on a drawer full of whdload games?
Would 14mhz display a lets say s letter drawer full of games that much quicker to justify this expense? I don't know, not busting on this just asking...
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Given the fact that Jens is aiming at a low cost peripheral, I'd imagine there's a good reason for the CPU and RAM on the card. My knowledge of the A500 expansion bus and the A1200 one isn't great, but it wouldn't surprise me if there had to be a CPU on there to provide some signals that the A500 usually doesn't provide. Plus I'd imagine the cost of a 68000 is tiny compared to the cost of development and small-scale manufacturing.
We should be grateful anyone's making any new hardware at all for our Amigas - even if it's not what we personally want, the fact that someone is making something is great - and there will be someone somewhere for whom that little side-car is a god-send. Remember just how expensive and rare A500 accelerators are! It may not be pretty but it's a pretty efficient way of expanding the market for his accelerator, and that can only help his Amiga future.
If I made some hardware, but was forced to make it external, I'd be pretty upset if I spent a year on it and it got branded as a "joke", to be honest.
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exactly...
An internal accelerator, designed to accommodate a few other potential internal expansions could fairly easily have been done.
maybe an 020 at 28Mhz, 8meg ram, a compact flash slot, and maybe a second IDE connector for a cdrom...
even if it cost twice as much as the ACA500, its twice as functional and practical!
Would be keen on exactly that, would be a good combo for the A500. Will see how the ACA500 works out.
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It has to be fitted inside like the first prototype.
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If your problem is the 68000 and WHDLoad because of the QUIT key, then Jens has said that his card would intercept that (whatever it is) and allow it to quit.
(I'm pretty sure anyway, that thread is huge and I can't find it now with a quick browse)
Found it: http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=872545&postcount=683 (http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=872545&postcount=683)
The quit key can even be implemented on a stock a500, but you would need to replace the vector table at the end of the kickstart rom.
I think figuring this out was the reason why the 020 was dropped.
Would 14mhz display a lets say s letter drawer full of games that much quicker to justify this expense?
Buy one and try it. Your question is too vague, how much quicker does it need to be to justify the cost? That isn't the main reason to buy one of these anyway.
You need to have an external CPU for the external kickstart loading to work.
It has to be fitted inside like the first prototype.
That statement is provably wrong. Jens says he had to make it external, I prefer it.
However there is no reason why you can't just hack in an 86 pin connector inside your A500. It will involve doing some major DIY, remove shielding etc & probably remove any other internal expansions but if you want to do it then go for it. You might have problems attaching something to the real 86 pin connector, but if you want it to be internal then it's unlikely you've got anything on there anyway.
There are loads of things you could add to a wish list for something like this, but ultimately it's an A500 and certain upgrades are pretty pointless. You could put an 060 in it, but what are you going to run?
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It will shipped without case, it will be ugly as hell and also unpractical. So I'll stick with my GVP HD8+, wich is also unpractical, but prety :)
If it would fit inside of A500, I would buy one, or if it would shipped with nice plastic case I would at last consider it.
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Time for The Daddy to come up with another project... :)
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I can't understand Jens sometimes, I remember him saying on eab awhile back something along the lines that he wouldn't be making the product fit internally because it wouldn't be user friendly to ex Amigans, and the potential for damage by fitting it, so the the side expansion was the best option. So now I hear it's going to be a bare expansion board without a case sticking out the side of the A500, so how how exactly is this a user friendly to anyone?
Time for The Daddy to come up with another project... :)
I hope so, and if Amigakit have any sense they will purchase some and make it an extra at time of purchase, otherwise I don't see this expansion appealing especially to ex amigans, a big shame as it looks like a great product technically.
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So now I hear it's going to be a bare expansion board without a case sticking out the side of the A500, so how how exactly is this a user friendly to anyone?
I hope so, and if Amigakit have any sense they will purchase some and make it an extra at time of purchase, otherwise I don't see this expansion appealing especially to ex amigans, a big shame as it looks like a great product technically.
I wouldn't be suprised if Jens has already designed this board to fit into a standard, widely available electronics project kit plastic case. There are a ton of designs. Jens isn't stupid, so I'm sure he's thought of that.
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there is no case so far ive read on a1k, and it doesnt look as if it would fit into any standard case.
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I wouldn't be suprised if Jens has already designed this board to fit into a standard, widely available electronics project kit plastic case. There are a ton of designs. Jens isn't stupid, so I'm sure he's thought of that.
It isn't a case of Jens being stupid, it is more Jens realises that some people want to make their own cases and gripe about the ones supplied. Of course the opposite is that those of us who want a case gripe about there not being one. :)
The MMC Replay came without a case, but fortunately it fitted into an easy to obtain C64 cartridge case and (with the help of a dremel) could be quickly installed. The C-One came without a case (insert in the PC case of your choice, just don't expect easy access to the ports).
I can't imagine anyone wanting to have one of these attached to their A500 without a case, but then I've been using my FPGA Arcade without on for over a year (I've learned to be very careful with my drink cups).
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I wonder how much 3D printed stuff costs..
I think it was Kipper2K (or someone one EAB??) who picked up a 3D printer recently.
Might be able to 3D print a case for it.. ;-)
(I think I heard a rumor that Staples (office supply store) is looking into have 3D printing as a service available)
desiv
(No idea how expensive that would be...)
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this is 3D printing, right? :D
(http://www.computer-plus.com/computer-mods/closeview.jpg)
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this is 3D printing, right? :D
(http://www.computer-plus.com/computer-mods/closeview.jpg)
It looks like a white version of the Walker :)
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.
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It looks like a white version of the Walker :)
Bwaaahahaaaa :D Top stuff !
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It isn't a case of Jens being stupid, it is more Jens realises that some people want to make their own cases and gripe about the ones supplied.
what? why do you imply something you just assume about someone else? jens has made a few attemts to organize the case production, like tracing down the old suppliers that might still have tools laying around. all that in vain. and then he decided not to provide case as it would cost too much to make one. still this is only a prototype so far so things may change
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@ammojammo: another premium case design on our sites. congrats!
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Two questions about the ACA500. Why not use SD cards instead of CF? What is with the 68000? It seems a lot like the C128 II.
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there is no case so far ive read on a1k, and it doesnt look as if it would fit into any standard case.
One of the news sites said it would ship in a sandwich case, although I haven't seen anything from Jens so far.
There are mounting holes, so a case should be doable.
However I can completely understand if Jens doesn't produce a case. People who aren't going to use an accelerator will probably want a small case, while those who plug an accelerator in the back will want a larger one. But how large? As the user may want to plug in an accelerator that doesn't even fit in an A1200 trapdoor.
He is on a hiding to nothing with this product.
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Two questions about the ACA500. Why not use SD cards instead of CF? What is with the 68000? It seems a lot like the C128 II.
I guess CF is much easier to connect since it uses controller similar to IDE.
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One of the news sites said it would ship in a sandwich case, although I haven't seen anything from Jens so far.
There are mounting holes, so a case should be doable.
However I can completely understand if Jens doesn't produce a case. People who aren't going to use an accelerator will probably want a small case, while those who plug an accelerator in the back will want a larger one. But how large? As the user may want to plug in an accelerator that doesn't even fit in an A1200 trapdoor.
He is on a hiding to nothing with this product.
jens tries a modular design, but it seems a bit of mistake. more disadvantages as the opposite i fear. seems many existing accels you may want to stick upon aca500 are not supposed to work. and also the case design and size are hard to decide. from what ive gathered in the a1k thread jens want to secure the accel with an iron plate, which you probably refer to as "sandwich". thats how i understand it at least.
edit: im sorry that it turns out like that. i was actually always in favour of modularity, but in this case it just doesnt seem to be worth the effort. id value it if jens turned to more ambitious tasks, but its apparently not his intention. lets face it the commercial (amiga) hardware market seems to dry out, still the fan projects may substitute it.
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which you probably refer to as "sandwich". thats how i understand it at least.
A sandwich is basically a top plate and bottom plate. Like the early raspberry pi cases http://www.thepixelpump.com/widdershins/images/pi2240.jpg
I heard aluminium, but it could be a lie.
seems many existing accels you may want to stick upon aca500 are not supposed to work.
Jens has only said that he won't endorse a compatibility list. All we know so far is that synchronous designs don't appear to work, because one of his own accelerators is incompatible due to this. He has tested it successfully with an 030 Blizzard, but he won't even guarantee that in case it was a fluke.
There are a number of inherent problems with this project. I am disappointed that he won't/can't support DMA on the A2000 version, although my disappointment is largely reduced as I sold mine after waiting for something like this for years.
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jens has only said that he won't endorse a compatibility list. All we know so far is that synchronous designs don't appear to work, because one of his own accelerators is incompatible due to this. He has tested it successfully with an 030 Blizzard, but he won't even guarantee that in case it was a fluke.
Blizzards works without memory, I wouldn't say it is success
None of 040/06 cards works, only cards wich has a 8mb ram works... quite pointless. I think that Jens is stuck with idee that need to connect A1200 accelerator to A500. It would be nice/good feature if we could add 040/060
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I heard aluminium, but it could be a lie.
yes sandwich like two plates that how i imagine it. and your right it must be alu, my bad, no need to call it a lie;)
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quite pointless. I think that Jens is stuck with idee that need to connect A1200 accelerator to A500. It would be nice/good feature if we could add 040/060
yesss.. pointlessss.. i share this opinion, but then im again talking about something, that doesnt affect me directly, as i dont have a computer in question.
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what? why do you imply something you just assume about someone else? jens has made a few attemts to organize the case production, like tracing down the old suppliers that might still have tools laying around. all that in vain. and then he decided not to provide case as it would cost too much to make one. still this is only a prototype so far so things may change
I'm trying to impy that Jens isn't stupid. Are you trying to imply that he is?
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exactly...
An internal accelerator, designed to accommodate a few other potential internal expansions could fairly easily have been done.
maybe an 020 at 28Mhz, 8meg ram, a compact flash slot, and maybe a second IDE connector for a cdrom...
even if it cost twice as much as the ACA500, its twice as functional and practical!
I would pay up to $500 USD for this, today, if it fit in the 68000 socket and didn't interfere with sidecar expansions (like the GVP and A570/A590), and was sized so that it didn't conflict with either the Indivision ECS or a Mini-Megachip, or need a billion fragile standoffs. But alas! I'm sure everyone wants something a little different, and Jens is going to do what Jens wants to do. Still, I've finally got a little money to spend on my retro fix, if only the hardware were available! :( *sad face*
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I'm trying to impy that Jens isn't stupid. Are you trying to imply that he is?
no. i just have seen him trying to organize some case solution.
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no. i just have seen him trying to organize some case solution.
Ah, good. I'm glad to hear it as everyone else seems to be speculating he isn't (which seems strange considering where the device is going to be installed).
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Unsubstantiated rumors and public outcry over something we know nothing about and/or have no intention of buying?
Surely not in the Amiga community!
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Maybe it'll fit in the case I "designed" for my hand-wirewrapped Zorro/CPU slot adapter and Ethernet card!
(http://cbmvax.com/jungle/exp1.jpg)
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@tone007 - LOL! Was that a printer? I suspect the pass-through on your HD would choke it. ;)
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That's an old prototype believe. This one is newer
http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=872178&postcount=648
Would love one of those. That A500 keyboard in the picture there needs some lovin lol - it looks like it has been kept in a garden.
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@tone007 - LOL! Was that a printer? I suspect the pass-through on your HD would choke it. ;)
it was a commodore 64 floppy disc drive :p
could have used a whole C64 though, they're basically the same size!
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Unsubstantiated rumors and public outcry over something we know nothing about and/or have no intention of buying?
Surely not in the Amiga community!
LOL. Never! :D
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The ACA500 looks bad. Why not redesign the whole A500 motherboard instead (like the Phoenix board for the A1000)?
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Megamig: a little realism could facilitate your life, or is just computers :D Phoenix boards are sold in parts, buyer needs to find parts him/herself and solder them to place. Losts of work, wich can't be done automatically. It would be huge risk to Jens to sell them and they would cost more than AmigaOne X1000.
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Hi everybody,
I registered here just to reply to this thread. I'm a complete Amiga newbie, having just purchased an Amiga 500 from ebay (hasn't arrived yet) to use for a "History of the Microcomputer" class I would like to teach in the fall. While I've built many PCs, I've never touched the inside of an Amiga, and frankly, just want the thing to work.
GVP external hard drives are really expensive to get on ebay. So I was interested at the first mention of the ACA500. I've got several old IDE hard drives I could use with it, and so I guess I represent the prime audience for this.
I can't wait till it comes out and will be checking back regularly for more information.
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Hi everybody,
I registered here just to reply to this thread. I'm a complete Amiga newbie, having just purchased an Amiga 500 from ebay (hasn't arrived yet) to use for a "History of the Microcomputer" class I would like to teach in the fall. While I've built many PCs, I've never touched the inside of an Amiga, and frankly, just want the thing to work.
GVP external hard drives are really expensive to get on ebay. So I was interested at the first mention of the ACA500. I've got several old IDE hard drives I could use with it, and so I guess I represent the prime audience for this.
I can't wait till it comes out and will be checking back regularly for more information.
You should check the original thread were Schoenfeld makes updates himself! http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=65087&page=1
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Ah, thank you very much! Just getting started in the Amiga community, so I don't quite know my way around yet. :-)
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Does anyone know when the ACA500 will be for sale?
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As Jens has mentioned himself: when it's ready.